April 29, 2010

Philip K. Dick's Exegesis

The New York Times reports that new selections from Philip K. Dick's 8,000-page theological journal known as the Exegesis are to be published next year. At least two volumes are projected (it's unclear as of yet whether or not they're planning to print the journals in their entirety), to be edited by Jonathan Lethem and Pamela Jackson (who published an article on Ubik a few years ago that I have not yet read). Previous selections were published in a volume edited by Dick's chief biographer, Lawrence Sutin, entitled In Pursuit of Valis. Lethem rightly notes that it's a bit of an exaggeration to refer to the Exegesis as a "work," which implies concepts of completeness and boundaries that just don't apply to a sprawling archive of notes. Nevertheless, it was in these journals that Dick laid the theological groundwork for his final novels. In Pink Beams of Light from the God in the GutterI argue that Dick's mystical speculations mark him as an important 20th century theologian, and I am excited to see what new speculations these new volumes will reveal.

Comments

While in Montreal recently, I noticed your *Gospel According to Science Fiction* in the McGill University Library and particularly appreciciated its careful summary in its last two pages of my *New Worlds for Old*. Thank you.